Aeroplane.



T. EISING.

AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 31, 1912.

Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

THEODOR EISING, OF HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY.

' AEROPLAN E.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 9., 1913.

Application filed October 31, 1912. Serial No. 728,782.

I '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Tunooon EISINU, a citizen of the Empire of Germany, and a resident of Hoboken, county of Hudson, State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Aeroplanes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to improvements in aeroplanes and pertains particularly to a safety device embodied therein which prevents the upsetting of the machine when the engine suddenly stops.

lVhen the engine of an aeroplane is suddenly stopped either by the aeronaut or by an accident, for instance when a bearing gets overheated and burns out or when the engine breaks then the aeroplane upsets and the aeronaut usually falls out of the machine. Thus injury to or the death of the aeronaut will result.

It is the purpose of the present invention to produce aeroplanes embodying a safety device which prevents the aeroplane from upsetting especially when the machine travels at relatively great speed and stops suddenly. This has been primarily attained by providing the machine with a gyroscopic device which runs as long as the engine runs but which continues to retate freely by its momentum when the engine stops unexpectedly. This gyroscopic device by means of its dynamical effects of rapid rotation balances the aeroplane for the time being and prevents the upsetting of the same thus giving the aeronaut a chance to steer the aeroplane to safety. It is evident that the gyroscopic device which rotates all the time when the engine runs tends to steady the flight of the machine but this in not an essential feature of the present invention which as above stated is the protection against injury to the aeronaut in aeroplanes of any known and approved construction.

The machine illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises an engine platform a, an engine I) mounted thereon, and a propeller 0 attached to the crank or driving shaft of the engine. There are further the planes d, d and vertical supporting braces or rods 0, e. Extending to the left in Fig. 1 is a rudder frame 7, f and to the right an altitude plane frame 9, 9 while the steering wheel h is mounted in close proximity to the chair 2' of the aeronaut. Further means are provided for supporting the wheels that travel on the ground of which one wheel 00 is shown. These parts of an aeroplane are well known and may be of any approved construction and arrangement.

The present invention consists essentially of a gyroscopic device actuated by the crank or driving shaft of the motor when same is running but continuing to rotate when the engine suddenly stops. For this purpose the horizontal crank or driving shaft j of the engine has a reduced end portion j which is threaded and adapted to receive a large bevel gear is which is screwed thereon and further secured by two nuts 7; and a pin Z. This large bevel gear l which thus is vertically mounted meshes with a small horizontal bevel gear m whose shaft runs vertically in a hanger hearing at supported on the motor platform (1. The relative sizes of the bevel gears are so selected that a high speed is imparted to the shaft 072- of the small bevel gear m. To the shaft 122- is eon nected any suitable mechanism which is adapted to automatically engage the gyrosco-pic device when the engine runs and release the same when the engine stops abruptly. For the purpose of illustrating mechanism of this kind a device is shown in Fig. 2 on an enlarged scale in which a g oscopic wheel 0 is mounted on a shat p whose pointed lower end runs in a ball bearing 9. The support 0" for the ball bearin 1 rests on frame work s. The gyroscope as a cylindrical boss t on its upper face, said boss being provided with clutch or ratchet teeth 15 which are actuated by a vertical sliding sleeve at whose lower end is provided with corresponding teeth 'u The sleeve 24 slides vertically on the lower squared por tion m of the bevel gear shaft on. Atthe bottom of the squared portion m a ball bearing g is located in which the pointed top end portion of the gyroscope shaft runs when engagement with the bevel gear shaft m is established. The sleeve u is controlled by weighted arms o secured thereto. These arms are pivotally connected by links 0 that are supported between two sets of spaced ears to on the sleeve w which sleeve is fixed to the rotatable bevel gear shaft on).

Assuming that the aeroplane rests on the ground then the ratchet teeth on the top surface of the boss t of the gyroscopic wheel 0 and the corresponding teeth on the lower end of the sliding sleeve u are out of engagement as shown in Fig. 1 and the-wroscope is at rest. When the engine is started and attains a certain speed the balls a of the weighted arms a are centrifuggadly thrown out during the rotation and the sleeve 11, is forced down engaging with teeth the ratchet teeth: of the boss of the gyroscope and thus rotating the latter; When the engine stops the bevel gears also stop whereby the weighted arms will de.-

scend allowing the sleeve to ascend sufli a ciently to break the engagement with theratchet teeth of the boss of the gyroscope whereupon the gyroscope will continue its rotation and run freely by momentum for a certain period of time enabling the aeronaut to steer the aeroplane to safety.

For machines of a certain limited size the gyroscopic wheel may be made of light metal or composition while! for larger machines heavier metals may be used. As shown the gyroscopic Wheel. is of relatively large size. It is beveled off on its circumference so as to present a. sharp edge for cutting the air easily thus offering little resistance.

I claim as my inventmml. A safety device for; aeroplanes for pretermediary drive mechanism normally out. of engagement with said Wheel comprising at oentrifugall governor adapted to automati cally establish connection with said Wheel when the enginestarts and automatically disengage therefrom when the engine suddenly stops or breaks down.

3. A safety device for aeroplanes for preventing the upsetting of the; machine comfprisrng a power engine, a horizontal gyroscopi'c wheel below with short vertical shaft. having teeth at the top portion, and inter- Inediary drive mechanism comprising a toothed bottom portion normally alcove theteeth of the gyroscope shaft, a centrifugal governor adapted to automatically establish connection with said? Wheel when the engine starts and automatically disengage there-from when the engine, suddenly stops or breaks down permitting; of a free movement of the gyroscope by momentum.

Signed at Hobroken, N.v Ji, 25th day of Qcto'ber 19112".

rrnnoloon memo.

Witnesses :1-

SAlSiUEL. Enema, MARIE; H. LEHR. 

